Ice won’t stop us

Editor’s note: This blog was originally published in January 2011. Given the recent pattern of icy weather we’ve been having, I thought it was appropriate and worth reposting. Rest assured, if more bad weather comes our way, our clinicians will again make their patients a priority and exceptional care will be delivered. We’ve made a promise to them and we will deliver.

by Andrea Powell, HPCCR Marketing Manager

It’s a new year and a new age in health care. Even as hospices around the country anxiously await the coming changes, we remain committed to providing expert end-of-life care to our patients. Because, after all, that’s why we’re here. To comfort. To serve.

Here in Charlotte, we got hit with our first winter storm of 2011. The snow was beautiful, the sledding great. The ice that followed, though, literally shut our town down. Schools have not opened their doors in days, neighborhood streets are treacherous, and parking lots are sheer sheets of ice.

Parents with cooped-up kids are not the only ones who have suffered. Many of our hospice patients who receive treatment in their homes did not receive visits from their care teams early this week and they (along with their caregivers) really depend on those visits. HPCCR care team members were anxious about the welfare of their patients and made every effort to stay in contact with them. They braved the icy roads yesterday so that they could ease the minds and bodies of the patients in their charge. They embodied the very nature of dependability and committment. And the dedication did not end there. Staff members at Levine & Dickson Hospice House – Huntersville even spent the night at the facility so that the patients there could continue to receive 24-hour care.

Over the past few days, HPCCR staff members rallied to the cause. Schedules were rearranged, creative solutions were crafted, and our patients received the superior care to which they’ve become accustomed. Teamwork and cooperation reigned and patient care was the priority.